To keep your gutters clean, there was only one solution - someone had to climb up to the roof and manually scrap out any leaves and rubbish from the gutters. it wasn't a fun job (not after the first time anyway!) and it certainly wasn't particularly safe.

Now, there are still people who manually clean gutters, but it isn't necessary as there are other ways to keep your gutters clean.

Why have clean gutters?

There are a number of reasons to have clean gutters, apart from any aesthetic preferences you may have.

• Fire safety - leaf debris is highly flammable and will aid the spread of a bushfire or a fire from a neighbouring house.

• Rodents - clean gutters don't provide nesting materials or food sources for rodents.

• Flooding - gutters that are blocked with rubbish will overflow or leak during heavy rain. That excess water may flow harmlessly onto the ground, or it may leak into your roof and cause damage to your house.

• Collecting water - water flowing through gutters full of debris will pick up various organisms and dirt particles and this will gather in your water tank. This means your tank water won't be clean and may reduce the lifetime of your tank, too.

• Repairs - clean gutters are less likely to develop holes or rust patches than gutters with mouldy leaves and stagnant water pools.

How to keep gutters clean - safely

The main methods of keeping your gutters clean require an initial installation and that's about it. That is, they still require routine checks and maintenance over time, but nowhere near as often as you would have to climb up and manually clean the gutters yourself.

• gutter brushes - looking like a bottle brush or chimney sweep, these are lengths of brush that sit in your gutter. Water easily flows past the brush bristles, but leaves and other debris can't get into the gutter.

• gutter covers - made of various materials, these covers form a lid over the gutter. These lids have small holes in them so that only water gets into the gutters.

• covered gutters - these are shaped gutters that actually include a cover over most of the gutter to prevent large materials entering the gutters. Note that if anything does get into these gutters, they are much harder to clean than traditional gutters.

Precious water is a Melbourne based company supplying rain water tanks that a re flexible enough to fit under your house or decking. That way, not only do you have enough water to care for your garden, but you don't lose any garden space to the tank. precious Water tanks are made to order to fit your requirements, so visit us at www.preciouswater.com.au and ask how we can help you conserve water today.